As old barns vanish from rural landscapes, so do their stories, forgotten memories of pioneer families in America. Anyone driving through Ohio and other midwestern states notices the plight of old barns – patches of siding missing, roofs tilted, paint faded. And Harrison County is no different; its many old barns are disappearing much too quickly.
I’ve been fortunate enough to visit thousands of old barns throughout Ohio and other states, meet the owners, and preserve their history in a painting and essay, some of which are in my books,’Historic Barns of Ohio’and ‘Round Barns of America’. Several years ago, when the History Press contacted me about writing a book on Ohio’s old barns, I had not visited all of our 88 counties. So, I wanted to make contact with the owners of this barn, one of the best surviving examples of a 16-sided barn. Ironically, the oldest documented round barn in America was also 16-sided. George Washington, surveyor, Revolutionary War hero, first president of our country, and, above all, an ardent farmer, built this barn in 1793. Unfortunately, it was destroyed circa 1870. Happily, a replica was built, thanks to a $2 million grant from the Kellogg Foundation in 1996. It sits proudly today at Mt. Vernon.
Images of this attractive round barn have managed to grace not only the tourist brochure of Harrison County but also those of other counties in this region. Originally, when I discovered it in the Dale Travis Ohio round barn website, I penciled a visit onto my bucket list, where it sat for years. But what the tourist brochures don’t mention is that it’s not easy to find. Fortunately, the historical society gave me the contact information of the barn’s owners, Judy and Ollie Workley, whom I called. At the time, Judy had just celebrated 61 years of marriage to Ollie, who, she said, also made picture frames out of barn wood. They were interested in showing off their barn.
Nearer to my visit in September 2018 – on my adventuresome barn hunting trip down the eastern Ohio Appalachian Plateau, where a straight road is rare – Judy told me not to follow my GPS, which would lead me up a nasty gravel road. Thanks to her, I successfully found the eerily-named Skullfork Road, navigated the hills and forests, and arrived safely, emerging from the woods and smiling when I saw this bright red barn perched upon a hill, like a lighthouse beacon shining into the sea. It was stunning.
According to Judy, the original owner, John B. Steward, built the house and barn in 1921. His two sons fought in WWI and presumably helped their dad farm the hilly land – before and after the war. Over the years, the farm fell on hard times and had deteriorated by the time the Workleys bought it in 1971. Thankfully, they felt so strongly about preserving Ohio history that they began to restore the barn, even adding a fresh coat of red paint recently. I loved the matching mailbox.
Actually, the barn is not perfectly round, as Judy proudly proclaimed, “It’s the only 16-sided barn in Ohio.” Each side is 12 feet long, the barn is 60 feet high, and it stretches 60 feet wide. Its sandstone foundation, quarried on the farm, reminded me of the Kindleberger stone barn in nearby Monroe County. The charming cupola sits on top of a round silo, which, according to Judy, was filled only once. Removing the corn took too long.
Judy and Ollie raised cattle, horses, but mostly hogs – at one time 186 of the porkers. Over the years, they’ve maintained the barn well, as its new roof proves. Judy also added a flair of her own by painting old car tires red, gold, and violet and attaching them to fence posts leading up to the barn. I had to include her art in my painting.
Although this barn is hard to find – virtually hidden in Appalachian woodland – it stands as a tribute not only to its builder of a century ago but also to the current owners who’ve been faithful stewards of history. Hopefully it will continue to survive as a reminder of Ohio’s early days, something that this essay and painting – framed in the barn’s own wood – also hope to accomplish.
Some of this article is excerpted from the books, Historic Barns of Ohio and Round Barns of America. Cincinnati-based artist and author Robert Kroeger raises funds with his barn paintings and books for historical societies throughout Ohio and Indiana. He would enjoy doing a barn tour in Harrison County for a historical society or other nonprofit. He can be contacted via email at info@robertkroeger.com.
